His Choice
Page 7
He did it because he wanted to.
Maddox, his twin brother, was the Omega, so he helped with emotional health of the Pack, much like Hannah, his sister-in-law, the Healer, helped with their physical health.
Jasper was the jack of all trades, doing what the moon goddess needed, even if he didn’t have a clear daily job these days. Between war meetings with the family, actual battles with the Centrals, and his duties as Beta, he didn’t spend as much time with Willow and Brie as he wanted to, and that hurt above all else. He could deal with the lack of sleep and barely scraping by his responsibilities, but he was missing so much with his family, and in that, he knew something had to change.
He just had no idea what.
If only the Beta could have an assistant or something.
“Daddy, I’m done.”
Jasper blinked and looked down at his little girl, who smiled up at him. He helped her wash her hands, took care of her training potty, washed his own hands twice more, and then carried Brie out of the bathroom upside down. He could have held her correctly, but he loved the way she squealed. He dodged a stray kick to the chin and kept moving.
As he moved, he caught a newer scent coming from his baby girl, one that had more to do with the magic within her ready to burst free than anything she might have rolled in. Knowing Brie, she could have rolled in just about anything.
His wolf nudged up against him, and he smiled. Yes, his little girl would be doing her shift soon. His own wolf could tell. All werewolves were born human, and usually, between the ages of two and three, they made their first shift into wolf pups. At that age, they had a little more control over their bodies to make the change, though all pups were a little rambunctious.
“Down, Daddy, down!” Brie giggled, the high-pitched sound not as grating now that he was awake, but damn, he needed coffee.
He set her down on her feet, and she scrambled to her chair in the dining room. Jasper followed his nose to the scent of fresh coffee then leaned against the archway so he could watch Willow in her element. No, he wasn’t being a chauvinistic ass. His Willow loved cooking and was freaking amazing at it. He still remembered the taste of the first omelet she’d made for him in this house and how he’d wanted to kneel at her feet and ask her to stay forever.
Okay, he might have done that anyway because his love and need for her wasn’t only for her omelets.
He licked his lips at the scent of the cinnamon from the rolls in the air blending with the sugar and cinnamon from his mate’s skin. He and his wolf loved the fact that his mate carried the scent of her famous cinnamon rolls on her skin.
Yep, she was totally perfect for him.
He came up from behind her and pulled her close. She laid her head back and sighed. “I’m almost done, then the rolls will have to bake for twenty minutes. I know Brie is hungry now, but I was in the mood for something extra sweet.”
He nibbled at her neck and hummed against her. “Me too, love.”
Willow laughed and wiggled away, the motion only making his cock stand more at attention. “Shoo. Go get Brie her yogurt so she at least has something nutritious. She can have half a roll when they’re done.”
He did as he was told and sat next to his daughter as she ate, laughing and telling him a story about her cousin Finn and how he’d turned into his wolf then tried to climb on a picnic table but had forgotten he had four paws instead of two feet.
He leaned back, sipping on his coffee, trying to ignore the long list of items he needed to get through and just listened to his daughter ramble. When she finished her story and ate more of her yogurt, she danced in her seat, unable to keep still for even a moment.
Jasper ran a hand through his hair, noticing it was again reaching his shoulders. His mother would scold him in that sweet way of hers, but Willow seemed to like it. Still, he needed to start taking better care of himself.
“Hey, Willow, what do you say the three of us go for a picnic or something today?”
Willow came out of the kitchen to the dining room, a frown on her face as she dried her hands. “Don’t you have to go to Isaiah’s house today then Ms. Clerk’s? They need your help with fixing something or other. After that, you have that meeting with Adam about patrols. You have to make sure that people are getting their shifts worked out, so they have a breather like they should, even though I think Adam knows that already.”
Jasper shook his head and stood up so he could bring her closer. “I think everyone can handle a day without me. Right?” Before the war, before he’d had his family, he’d been able to do just that. Now, though, things were different.
Willow smiled, her eyes bright. “I’d love it if you could do that. I have people coming into the bakery today to work. I was planning on taking the day off to play with Brie anyway. We’d love it if you could come with us.”
He grinned, his body relaxing for the first time in too long. He brought his lips to hers and sank against his mate.
His cell phone rang on the counter, and he cursed. “Let’s hope that’s something I can ignore.”
Willow gave a sad smile, patted his cheek, and then shook her head. “I know you love your job as Beta, Jasper. No, that’s not right… It’s not a job; it’s your calling, your duty. Do what you need to. Brie and I will be here. I promise.”
He kissed her forehead then picked up his cell. Of course it wasn’t something he could ignore, as it was one of the newly widowed witches in the Pack, Calista, who’d lost her husband during one of the Centrals’ attacks. Emotionally, she was a wreck, but she was maintaining with Maddox’s help. Jasper also had a duty to her, to be there to make sure she had all she needed to raise her kids, live her life, and try to find a way to move on.
After dressing for the day, and following a regretful kiss goodbye to his girls, he made his way to Calista’s. She was in a rare position in that she didn’t have any family within the den to help with things like a leaky pipe in her basement—the current job Jasper had to help with. Yes, his actual job in the human world, when he could get to it, was a contractor, but he barely remembered that world these days. Calista, however, didn’t have a job in the human realm. She’d been a stay-at-home wife to her mate and mom to her six children, something she loved.
Mateo, her late husband, had been one of the Alpha’s enforcers, a bodyguard to the Alpha, and had died protecting the Pack on patrol. Now Calista was alone, with no family except for Mateo’s great aunt who, at four hundred and twelve, was long past the age of wanting to help raise kids. She did it though. Calista wasn’t alone and was a strong enough woman that her kids were in a better place than they would have been if she hadn’t had such a steely backbone.
The woman couldn’t fix a leaky pipe though—something that pissed her off.
“I don’t understand it, Jasper,” she said as she soothed her four-year-old and brushed her six-year-old’s hair at the same time. “If it was just a normal leak, I could fix it, but this? This looks big.”
Well, she wasn’t wrong. The woman’s basement currently resembled a small lake. Since Calista wasn’t a wolf and didn’t have those extra senses, she hadn’t been able to hear the room filling with water. She’d caught it before it had gotten any worse only because one of her kids had noticed it.
“You could call it that,” Jasper answered easily. “I’m going to have to call Kade or someone else in to help me fix it.”
Calista sighed but nodded. “Is there something special I need to know about for cleanup?”
“Yeah, but I’ll bring people over to help. You’ve got enough on your plate to worry about mold.”
“Oh goddess. Mold?” Her voice rose to a squeak, and Jasper winced.
“We’ll take care of it. Don’t you worry.” He ran a hand over one of the little girls’ hair, missing his own Brie.
“I don’t know what I’d do without you, Jasper. I don’t know what the Pack would do you without you. You’re a great Beta.”
Jasper gave a tight smile and got to work. Yes, he might have been a great Beta, but he was a fucking tired one. He’d wanted to spend time with his girls, and now he was knee-deep in murky water.
Oh, the joys of duty and fate.
He loved his job, he really did. He just wanted to go back to a time when he had something else…something that was just about him.
Something gurgled behind him, and he turned, only to find himself drenched and dripping with sewage.
Fuck it.
He looked down at what he hoped was mud on his shirt.
He needed a vacation.
Or at least a towel.
Jasper let out a breath then bent to pick up his tool box from the steps. Seeing how he was mired in his own head and not paying attention like he should have been, he didn’t see the rusty pipe sticking out of the wall.
His head slammed into it, and he saw stars, swallowing back bile as he fell to his knees, the water now up to his chest.
He blinked a couple times, and then, just as the darkness slid over him, he heard shouts and his name.
At least he wouldn’t drown alone. He definitely needed a break.
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